The masterwork of Alfonso 'Poncho' Martinez is his tlayuda con tres carnes, a canvas for Oaxaca's glories
for sake and fried snacks. A tlayuda con tres carnes at Poncho’s, now that it’s back, is on the short list, too.The tortillas that Alfonso “Poncho” Martinez uses to craft his singular specialty come from Oaxaca, made by families who have been growing, milling and nixtamalizing corn for generations. They measure around 14 inches, mostly uniform in size but each etched with uniquely patterned edges — some singed, some smooth, some jagged like mountain landscapes seen from a distance.
Depending on the variety of corn, the color of the tortillas can be inkblot blue or the faded pink of a favorite childhood T-shirt. The ones you see stacked under Poncho’s red tent lately tend to be a creamy pale gold.He starts to build a tlayuda by painting his tortilla canvas with asiento, a fresh, toasted lard he renders himself. Its flavor doesn’t oink too loudly; it’s more of a bass booster to amplify the other ingredients.
Martinez or his grill man Alberto Vasquez will lay the round tlayuda on a grate over live mesquite coals. The tortilla, stiff from its long journey, softens and then crisps over the heat and breathes in some of the woodsy smoke. If you’ve ordered the option of tres carnes , Martinez or Vasquez will crumble over a generous blanket of chorizo. Shredded cabbage goes on last, and then the tlayuda is folded in half on the grill, warmed for a couple minutes longer and finally whacked in two.
Poncho’s Tlayuda resumed steady hours after months of sporadic pandemic-related closures and Plan B experiments — much of it due to thewhen COVID-19 halted the world in March 2020. I’d gorged on Martinez’s tlayudas a few times pre-shutdown and enjoyed them immensely, but their reappearance reminds me how exceptional and vital they are to the city.
Los Angeles knows tlayudas, one specialty among many local expressions of Oaxacan cuisine. Southern California is home to the largest Oaxacan population outside Mexico — an estimated 150,000 to 300,000 residents — including indigenous Zapotecs, Mixtecs, Mixes and other groups. Restaurants in L.A. usually serve
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